The NYT Mini is a quick and dirty version of the newspaper's larger and long-running crossword. Most days, there are between three and five clues in each direction on a five by five grid, but the puzzles are sometimes larger, especially on Saturdays.

I would've aced today's Mini Crossword if not for 1 Down. That was something I had never heard of before, and I tried a varietion on it as just a guess, then had to backtrack when

Read no further until you really want some clues or you've completely given up and want the answers ASAP. Get ready for all of today's NYT 'Connections’ hints and answers for #580 on Saturday, January 11,